TORONTO (AP) -- Dennis Rodman says the owners are at fault in the NBA lockout, but the players should ease their demands to help end the dispute that has already cost the league the first two weeks of the season.
"I think the players should bow down," he said Thursday.
Rodman was a guest at the post-position draw at Woodbine Racetrack for Sunday's Pattison Canadian International, the most lucrative horse race in Canada.
"It's not the players' fault, it's the owners' fault and I think (the players) should give a little bit," the Hall of Famer said. "And that way, things will move on."
Rodman, a seven-time rebounding champion, was in the league in 1999 when the season was cut to 50 games because of a lockout. He questions the resolve of the players.
"Most players don't give a damn about the game," he said. "They want the money and all of a sudden they want unity. I'm not taking the owners' side. I think the players should look at themselves."
Negotiations have stalled over the structure of the salary cap system and the division of revenues between owners and players.
Calling it a "very touchy situation," Rodman said times have changed since the last labor disruption.
"Now you've got maybe 10 teams that are making money," he said.
Most of these players have a bad hand and short stacks. I can't imagine how can they continue playing hard to get. Owners will lose money but they have diversified portfolio so they can afford it. I can't say the same for most players.
The players have given a lot already, its the owners who haven't given anything up which is why the players feel this is unfair.
You could argue that previous CBA's have been unfair on owners though.
It was almost unanimously agreed that the owners won the last negotiations when the players came crawling back and took the owner's offer which included a cap on max salaries, the first in sports history.
Yea not like Billy Hunters interview was any less biased.
Derek Fisher needs to be more out front with the radio interviews, etc. He comes across as very sincere, and is much easier to relate to than Hunter -- or Stern.
Rodman to players: 'Bow down'
